科威特一位国会议员近期提出议案，建议政府为该国男性公民娶第二个妻子提供资助，以解决国内未婚女子过多的问题。这位议员表示，该议案不但可以为未婚女子解决婚姻问题，同时还能鼓励丧偶或离异的男女重新组织家庭。此前，科威特政府已有政策为初婚的男性公民提供4000第纳尔（约合1.4万美元）的“婚姻援助金”，其中一半为结婚奖励，另一半则为安家初期的免息贷款。不过，此次议案中获得援助的男性需要满足两个条件：首先，该男性需得到现任妻子的书面许可，或者是丧偶或离异状态；其次，该男性要娶的女子必须为丧偶或离异，或是40岁以上的未婚女子。该议案将提交国会审议，一经通过便将成为法律。

A Kuwaiti man and his wife walk outside one of the biggest malls in Kuwait city in 2005. (Agencies)

A Kuwaiti MP proposed Wednesday state-aid for male citizens to take second wives, in a bid to reduce the large number of unmarried women in the oil-rich emirate.

"The proposal aims at solving the problem of unmarried women, which is a problem facing our society, and encourages widows and divorced men and women to form new families," independent Shiite MP Faisal al-Duwaisan said.

The Gulf state already grants Kuwaiti men who wed a female citizen for the first time a "marriage aid" of 4,000 dinars (14,000 dollars, 11,000 euros), half of which is a grant and the rest an interest-free loan with easy installments.

But Duwaisan wants the government to grant an additional aid package for men to take second wives, provided certain conditions are met.

The prospective grooms must obtain written permission from their existing wives to marry again, or they must be widowed or divorced.

The women they marry must be widows, divorced or at least 40 years of age and never married, Duwaisan said in his proposal, which was submitted to parliament.

Parliamentary panels will review the proposal, then send it to parliament for consideration. If approved, it will become law.

Kuwait, the fifth-largest producer inside the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, provides a cradle-to-grave welfare system by offering most public services at highly-subsidised rates. Education and health are free for citizens.

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(Agencies)

Vocabulary:

MP: Member of Parliament，国会议员

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）